Alcuin: Deacon, and Abbot of Tours, 804

Rite I:
Almighty God, who in a rude and barbarous age didst raise up thy deacon Alcuin to rekindle the light of learning: Illumine our minds, we pray thee, that amid the uncertainties and confusions of our own time we may show forth thine eternal truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Rite II:
Almighty God, in a rude and barbarous age you raised up your deacon Alcuin to rekindle the light of learning: Illumine our minds, we pray, that amid the uncertainties and confusions of our own time we may show forth your eternal truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Old Testament:

Ecclesiasticus 39:1-9

1 He seeks out the wisdom of all the ancients,
and is concerned with prophecies;2 he preserves the sayings of the famous
and penetrates the subtleties of parables;3 he seeks out the hidden meanings of proverbs
and is at home with the obscurities of parables.4 He serves among the great
and appears before rulers;
he travels in foreign lands
and learns what is good and evil in the human lot.5 He sets his heart on rising early
to seek the Lord who made him,
and to petition the Most High;
he opens his mouth in prayer
and asks pardon for his sins.

6 If the great Lord is willing,
he will be filled with the spirit of understanding;
he will pour forth words of wisdom of his own
and give thanks to the Lord in prayer.7 The Lord* will direct his counsel and knowledge,
as he meditates on his mysteries.8 He will show the wisdom of what he has learned,
and will glory in the law of the Lord’s covenant.9 Many will praise his understanding;
it will never be blotted out.
His memory will not disappear,
and his name will live through all generations.

Psalm:

Psalm 37:3-6,32-33

3 Put your trust in the Lord and do good; *
dwell in the land and feed on its riches.4 Take delight in the Lord, *
and he shall give you your heart’s desire.5 Commit your way to the Lord and put your trust in him, *
and he will bring it to pass.6 He will make your righteousness as clear as the light *
and your just dealing as the noonday.

32 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, *
and their tongue speaks what is right.33 The law of their God is in their heart, *
and their footsteps shall not falter.

Epistle:

Titus 2:1-3

1 But as for you, teach what is consistent with sound doctrine. 2Tell the older men to be temperate, serious, prudent, and sound in faith, in love, and in endurance.

3 Likewise, tell the older women to be reverent in behaviour, not to be slanderers or slaves to drink; they are to teach what is good,

Gospel:

Matthew 13:10–16

10 Then the disciples came and asked him, ‘Why do you speak to them in parables?’ 11He answered, ‘To you it has been given to know the secrets* of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 13The reason I speak to them in parables is that “seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.” 14With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says:
“You will indeed listen, but never understand,
and you will indeed look, but never perceive.15 For this people’s heart has grown dull,
and their ears are hard of hearing,
and they have shut their eyes;
so that they might not look with their eyes,
and listen with their ears,
and understand with their heart and turn—
and I would heal them.”16But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.